Louisiana worst-run state in U.S., but don’t worry; the legislature is coming to bail us out (as they always do)

Republican members of the Louisiana Legislature are pretty smug about their ability to block any proposed legislation or budget put forward by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Witness the antics of Rep. Cameron Henry (R-Metairie) as he danced to puppeteer/House Speaker Taylor Barras (R-New Iberia) in rejecting the findings of the Revenue Estimating Conference, effectively killing any chance Edwards had of implementing badly needed pay raises for Louisiana’s public school teachers.

But do Henry and Barras, members in good standing of the “Caucus of No,” give a damn about teachers or, for that matter, the state as a whole?

You can check that box No.

And the same can be said for Attorney General Jeff Landry, who would far rather take pot shots at the governor than do his job.

The only thing—and I stress the only thing—important to them is winning. Defeating any proposal of the governor in an effort to cast him in a bad light as the 2019 election approaches is considered a victory for them.

It’s a damned shame that grown-ass men put their own interests and the interests of their precious political party (be they Republican or Democrat) over the good of the citizens of this state. They would rather point fingers of blame for failures and grab credit for successes than come together to try and lead this state out of the backwater world of financial, educational, environmental, and cultural existence for which it has become notorious.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at the number of legislative sessions we’ve had over the past three years:

2016: 4 (one was the organization session held ever four years, so realistically, we shouldn’t count that one).

2017: 3—Regular session and two special sessions—just to try and pass a state budget.

2018: 4—Regular session and three special sessions—same problem.

Legislators Robert Johnson (D-Marksville) and Sen. Eric LaFleur (D-Ville Platte) put their fingers on the problem in 2017 when they dubbed the philosophy of putting corporate interests above individual taxpayers as ”OBSTRUCTIONIST POLITICS.”

And therein lies the problem. The big moneyed interests—big oil, big Pharma, banks, payday lending, nursing homes, communications companies, and insurance companies—all working together under the umbrella of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the Louisiana Chemical Association and the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, pour money into legislators’ campaign funds, forevermore buying the undying loyalty of their lapdogs who, by pushing a red or green button mounted on their desks, control the fate of four million Louisiana citizens.

When it comes to you, with your $25 donation, having your complaint about high cable TV bills, high drug prices, or unfair lending practices going up against their hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, legislative parties, meals at Sullivan’s and Ruth’s Chris, and the occasional “companionship” during a deep-sea fishing trip, just who do you think is going to be heard?

Again: don’t believe me? Then attend a legislative committee hearing on a bill in which you have an interest. Sign the card to speak for or against the bill. If your position is contrary to the committee members’ positions that have already been bought and paid for, just watch their eyes glaze over as you testify. Or, they might even get up and leave the committee room to take an “important” phone call or just get a cup of coffee. The point is, they ain’t listening to you.

Having said all that, I now bring to the witness stand the latest findings of 24/7 Wall Street, that private research firm that publishes dozens of lists and ranks each day, from the best wines or automobiles to companies projected to downsize to the most obese state, poorest state, state with the biggest gap in gender pay to today’s published results:

The ability to attract new residents (new money and new demand for goods and services);

The strength of the job market;

Diversity of economy;

Per capita GDP;

Crime rate

Do you want to even hazard a guess as to where Louisiana ranked?

You got it.

Dead last. 50th. Anchor position.

The top three, in order were Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Utah’s state minimum wage is $7.25 but Washington has the nation’s highest at $11.50 and Oregon is fourth-highest at $10.75

The bottom five, in order, are West Virginia, Mississippi, Alaska, New Mexico, and….

Louisiana

We have the nation’s fifth highest unemployment rate (5.1 percent), the second lowest GDP growth, and the third highest poverty rate (19.7 percent).

Alaska’s minimum wage is $9.84 per hour and in New Mexico and West Virginia it is $8.25. In Mississippi and Louisiana, however, the minimum wage is still $7.25 even though the LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR says the living wage for a single adult in Louisiana ranges from a low of $9.46 per hour in Avoyelles Parish to $11.40 for several parishes in the New Orleans area. Here is the living hourly wage for a single adult in the following Louisiana parishes:

ACADIA: $9.62

ALLEN: $10.20

ASCENSION: $10.89

ASSUMPTION: $10.13

AVOYELLES: $9.46

BEAUREGARD: $10.20

BIENVILLE: $10.20

BOSSIER: $10.98

CADDO: $10.98

CALCASIEU: $10.20

CALDWELL: $10.20

CAMERON: $10.20

CATAHOULA: $10.20

CLAIBORNE: $9.88

CONCORDIA: $9.88

DESOTO: $10.98

EAST BATON ROUGE: $10.89

EAST CARROLL: $9.96

EAST FELICIANA: $10.89

EVANGELINE: $9.88

FRANKLIN: $9.88

GRANT: $10.83

IBERIA: $10.31

IBERVILLE: $10.02

JACKSON: $9.88

JEFFERSON DAVIS: $10.20

JEFFERSON: $11.40

LAFAYETTE: $10.79

LAFOURCHE: $11.27

LASALLE: $9.92

LINCOLN: $10.69

LIVINGSTON: $10.89

MADISON: $9.88

MOREHOUSE: $10.20

NATCHITOCHES: $10.25

ORLEANS: $11.40

OUACHITA: $11.01

PLAQUEMINES: $11.40

POINTE COUPEE: $10.89

RAPIDES: $10.83

RED RIVER: $10.34

RICHLAND: $9.88

SABINE: $10.14

BERNARD: $11.40

CHARLES: $11.40

HELENA: $10.89

JAMES: $9.73

JOHN THE BAPTIST: $11.40

LANDRY: $9.54

MARTIN: $10.79

MARY: $10.32

TAMMANY: $11.40

TANGIPAHOA: $10.90

TENSAS: $9.88

TERREBONNE: $11.27

UNION: $11.01

VERMILION: $9.79

VERNON: $10.77

WASHINGTON: $9.90

WEBSTER: $9.78

WEST BATON ROUGE: $10.89

WEST CARROLL: $9.88

WEST FELICIANA: $10.89

WINN: $10.20

No living wage for a single adult in any of the 64 parishes was given at $7.25, so how the hell do our LABI-bought, packaged, and owned legislators think a single mom and two or three kids can subsist on $7.25 an hour?

We have the nation’s fifth highest unemployment rate (5.1 percent), the second lowest GDP growth, and the third highest poverty rate (19.7 percent).

Ah, but the 2019 regular session convenes at noon on April 8. The booze will flow again, sumptuous food will abound in Baton Rouge’s finest restaurants and deals can be made.

Of course, campaign contributions may not be made during the session, but not to worry; all that will be taken care well in advance of the fall of the gavel to open the session.

It’s Louisiana and we’re number by-gawd 50 and we worked hard to get there.

Question: Do facts or alternate facts rule in Louisiana? I think we know the answer, but not enough people care enough to hold our lawmakers accountable. Tom has provided some solid data here. Will LABI, LCA, LOGA and small businesses pay any attention? It’s hard to blame anybody or entity for wanting to avoid taxes to the extent possible, but not for simply ignoring facts in order to rationalize doing so, and dismissing the concept of altruism, much less conscience.

I was there when comprehensive budget reform legislation, including creation of the Revenue Estimating Conference was developed and enacted some thirty years ago. There was CLEAR intent that the overall budget was not to be considered when the forecasts of revenues were developed. Otherwise, determining money available could be tainted by expenditure pressures. Economics is not a precise science. Until this legislation was enacted the governor and legislators simply adjusted things like the projected price of oil when they needed to add spending. Doing so got us into a billion dollar hole by 1988 – and a billion dollars was a lot more money in 1988 than it is today. That won’t happen again because budgets cannot be based on a greater amount than the official forecast, but the fact remains that Barras and Henry are injecting something into the forecasting process that should be kept at arms length. They know this, but admitting it would make clear the political intent of their actions. Shame on them for using the pretense of caution as an excuse.

While I don’t doubt that the campaign contributions come in handy for paying for childcare (if you’re a white male candidate), just as important is the reality that the majority of voters in this state will check whatever name has an R next to it. No campaigning needed.

I’d put up some money to rent electronic streaming billboards around the state saying the same thing so that when folks are stuck in traffic, they can read how their legislators are taking care of business (their business). Let’s shed some light on this!

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